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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Miguel Olivo Does a Tyson and Bites Alexander Guerrero's Ear Off


Something you won't believe happened this afternoon during a AAA game.

The Isotopes were playing the Salt Lake Bees when an argument erupted on the mound as Albuquerque was making a pitching change (Jared Massey shared a vine video of this altercation that you can see here).  Veteran catcher Miguel Olivo, who you should apparently not mess with, got into a heated argument with teammate and Dodger prospect Alexander Guerrero.  Then, a brawl ensued soon afterwards in the dugout.

Blood was shed.  According to reports, Olivo bit off a piece of Guerrero's ear; emulating Mike Tyson.
(Pic via MiLB on twitter)

Via Danny Wild at MiLB.com:
Albuquerque second baseman Alex Guerrero needed surgery on his left ear after getting attacked by teammate Miguel Olivo during a dugout fight at Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday, and both Salt Lake police and the Dodgers are investigating.

The game was stopped briefly in the eighth inning when Guerrero, the Isotopes' second baseman, and Olivo began fighting in the Albuquerque dugout. Both players were replaced in the lineup. Guerrero, according to agent Scott Boras, "is having plastic surgery on his ear right now," Tweeted Jon Morosi of FOX Sports at 6:39 p.m. ET. Boras indicated the surgery was as a result of Guerrero being bitten by Olivo.

Morosi said police have "gathered evidence about the incident and collected witness statements, according to Boras. Guerrero's recovery timetable is uncertain, Boras said. It's not clear yet how many stitches the surgery will require."
You can check out a bunch of pics of the dugout fight over at StingemBees.com blog.  Smudge provides the best report so far on why this happened:
It goes like this…….The Isotopes defense had their struggles against our base runners. If I were managing my Comp team I would call it laziness…. The Bees advanced runners multiple times because after plays were seemingly over, Isotopes players would wander away from their base and our Bees runners would advance with very little opposition.

A couple times the runners advanced with the ball in C Miguel Olivo’s hand. I got the feeling he was upset that no one was talking to let him know there was a runner, and when they DID scream “runner!”, no one was at the bag to cover a play. …. That is certainly a cluster of plays that got under the skin of Olivo.
The Dodgers issued the following statement:
The baseball operations department is aware of the altercation and is conducting an investigation into the matter. The organization does not condone this type of behavior and will have no further comment at this time.
It should be noted that non-violence isn't exactly an Olivo credo.  He has instigated at least a couple of fights on the field.
  • On September 29, 2007 he ran across the diamond and threw a punch at Jose Reyes - starting a bench-clearing brawl.
  • On August 3, 2008 he was hit by pitcher DJ Carrasco, so naturally Olivo charged after him.  The benches cleared again.
Olivo is also one tough customer.  Via a wikipedia entry:
Olivo made headlines in early 2010 for having to leave the Rockies' April 29 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at the beginning of the eighth inning to pass a kidney stone. Remarkably, he was able to re-enter soon after and finished the game.
Not only can Olivo pass a stone and not miss a beat, but he will also bite your ear off.

This man is not to be screwed with!

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Check Out Some Dodger Goodies at Legendary Auctions - Pee Wee, Jackie, Sandy and Zach

Now that SCP has just closed their Spring auction, Legendary opens up their May extravaganza with over 2,000 lots of sports memorabilia goodness.  As usual, there are some great Dodger collectibles to gawk at.  Below are my favorites.

Below is a March 7, 1940 Central Press Association press photo of rookie and future Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese.  Based on the date, this photo was taken during Spring Training as he prepares to make the big club for the first time.
(Auction Link)

The next two photographs are original "The Jackie Robinson Story" movie stills from 1950.  Jackie is wearing a Montreal Royals uniform in the photo below.
(Auction Link)

Below, Jackie is captured sliding into 2nd base.
(Auction Link)

Here is an original painting by Baseball artist Dick Perez; of Diamond Kings and Perez Steele Gallaries fame.  It is of Dodger Hall of Famer Zach Wheat and was used in Perez's recent book “The Immortals Collection”.  Via the auction description:
Card collectors will recognize this classic pose from the 1921 Exhibit Card set, and it's a picture-perfect Perezian homage to Wheat's trademark swinging style. As described by SABR biographer Eric Enders:

"Wheat was a natural left-handed hitter who corkscrewed his spikes into the dirt with a wiggle that became his trademark. Unlike most Deadball Era hitters, he held his hands way down by the knob of the bat, refusing to choke up. 'There is no chop-hitting with Wheat, but a smashing swipe which, if it connects, means work for the outfielders,' wrote one reporter. He was an outstanding first-ball hitter, and he was also so renowned as a curveball hitter that John McGraw reportedly had a standing order prohibiting his pitchers from throwing him benders."
(Auction Link)

By now, you know how much I love painted Baseball artwork, and my favorite of all the artist I've featured over the years is George Sosnak.  His work is some of the best folk art America has to offer, so it's no surprise his efforts can be found at New York's American Folk Art Museum, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Below is a painted ball Sosnak did of Sandy Koufax.  It appears to be an unfinished ball that may have been part of an estate sale conducted after Sosnak's death (numerous work-in-progress Baseballs were sold by his widow).  Featured on one side is a Koufax signature. 
(Auction Link)

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Blog Kiosk: 5/20/2014 - Dodger Links - Dodgers Day Off Shenanigans and Dodger Radio Ratings are Way Up


Drew Butera and Dee Gordon spent their day off hanging out with some New York youngsters - playing dodgeball.  In the photo above they take a group selfie, pic via @MLBFanCave on twitter.
The most expensive team money can buy is also the most expensive mistake in the short history of wildly overpriced, patently absurd local-television-rights deals.

  • Via Chris Olds at Beckett, "Your ballpark photos could end up on a baseball card in 2015 Topps Opening Day set."  I might have to get an instagram account.
  • Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers hope Ryu's return stabilizes rotation."
"I feel healthy and I don't feel I need to be extra careful during my start," said Ryu. "The only difference is the extra shoulder exercises I'm doing after the injury. Otherwise, my routine is normal. I'm not aware of any pitch limitations, but that's not up to me.

"The hard part about being out is that I kind of felt bad for the rotation. I felt I wasn't able to pull my load for the team while on the sidelines. Now that I'm coming back, I will be able to contribute."
But the Dodgers want Guerrero to keep getting reps at second base. They've said all along they see him as not-yet-acceptable as a major league defensive second baseman, but with a few months of practice hopefully he gets up to at least the level where his bat can compensate for what his glove gives away.



* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
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